Milk

I am a great fan of the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling. Anyone who knows me or who has followed my Twitter feed or Facebook status updates, can attest to this fact. Perhaps more so than they would like.

Ever since the third book, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, there has always been one aspect of Harry’s universe, an aspect I always considered could be a real possibility, that, more than anything, I wish I could experience. The longing has always been there, at the distant edges of my psyche, buzzing around my stray thoughts like a hard to catch ‘Snitch’. Not magic. Not the Time-Turner. Not even a draft of Felix Felicis. Nothing but the warm and slightly intoxicating taste of HermioneButterbeer!

Alas, I hear your cries of doubt, but fear not Millieunairs for the fabled drink of drinks does indeed exist.

For the last two weeks, I have taken to scouring the Internet in search of the perfect Butterbeer recipe. Some have certainly come delectably close, but none, that I can tell, appear to have perfected a brew like Madam Rosmerta’s. That is, I dare say, until now!

Through hours of gruelling brewing, I have managed to create, what I believe to be, the drink J.K. Rowling herself envisioned. Two variants, each unique, but both filled with delicious near butterscotch-like, tipsy house-elf inducing, goodness. Just in time too, for what better way is there to celebrate Harry Potter’s birthday (31st July) then with a mug of warm tingly Butterbeer?!

Do you have moobs? Are your moobs saggy? Do you feel like your moobs are keeping you down?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions then you are in luck! The Japanese company Wishroom has heard your lethargic call and has developed a solution:

Brassiers for men!

That is correct gents! Wishroomhas created bras for men. The strangest part? The bras are selling out faster than Brangelina can adopt children.

Mail order company Wishroom started selling the unusual underwear last year [2008].

Unsure of its reception, at first they only produced 160 bras at the start. These sold out immediately, prompting the company to order 5 000 more.

Wishroom president Masayuki Tsuchiya says demand from customers prompted the company to create the male bra.

In Japan, men who wear bras are known as “Bra-o”, which means “Bra men”.

Wishroom’s bras are available in a choice of white, pink and black and retail for around £20 [about R260]. They are all A cup size with chest size ranging from 32ins to 38ins.

According to Mr Tsuchiya, office workers in their 30s and 40s are Wishroom’s main clients.

“Japanese salary men have a lot of stress, and the bras seem to relieve that,” he said.

Another, more surprising, market has proven to be in their 50s and 60s who, it turns out, also partial to the calming effects of a bra.

“They were the generation we had been told were manly – they led Japan in the post-war period,” explains Tsuchiya, speculating they may now be reacting against this stereotype (ananova.com).

Okay, how is a bra supposed to relieve stress? The damn things are near impossible to take off, especially in the heat of the moment. Unlike shirts, bras cannot simply be ripped off. If anything, bras are a cause of stress for men, especially during foreplay.

Apart from taking bra’s off, have you seen how much of a mission they are to put on? Why on earth would a non cross dressing inclined man want to wear a bra? Not wearing a bra, or any underwear for that matter, is one of the perks of being a man, right up there with getting away with bed hair and being able to urinate while standing upright.

I have always known that the Japanese are somewhat more eccentric than most, mainly because they appear to have an incomplete understanding of Western culture. Anyone remember the English swear words on shirts a few years back? [Check out www.engrish.com for more Asian eccentricities]

However, there is usually always some kind of method to the Japanese madness ingenuity. Take the boob shaped milk bottle dispensers, for example…

About me

Hi, I'm Hans. A Ludologist by education; writer, marketer and ecommerce curator by trade; foodie by nature; and a tech, gadget and gamer geek in my spare time. This blog is where I share my personal thoughts on almost everything and anything.